More Carrots

Holden likes to pick the carrots, and I like to take pictures of him picking them.


Also, I know that it looks like he has a ginormous diaper on, but it's his awesome training pants. Huzzah!

Let's Revisit

How crazy it is that this.....




Or these....

Can become these...
Or this...
Or THAT?!?!

I did not think that Holden and I would enjoy our "Pumpkin Patch" so much. We've got three varieties all growing and showing actual fruits (are pumpkins fruits?): orange ones for cooking (fingers crossed), white ones for carving (hopefully), and some of those little gourds for decorating (easy enough).

And eventhough I keep telling Danny that all of the 'growth' along our west facing/(hmm, south facing?) fence happen to be pumpkins, he still likes to tell me that we have watermelons and honeydew growing.

He may try to hide his excitement about the garden, but it's hard to contain exhuberance like ours when stuff is growing like a weed (except it's not a weed. It's pumpkins... remember?)

If You Carrot All...

Today's harvest... delightful carrots! I had no idea I would take so much joy in seeing something grow from seed, etc.

Yes, those are orange AND purple carrots. Holden is noshing on a purple variety. He loves to carry the carrots and beets after we've pulled them.

He's also been dining on the heirloom cherry and bite-sized pear tomatoes as well. Though he prefers the cherry variety. Unfortunately he also loves to pick unripe green ones.

For the record, I showed Danny the pumpkins that were coming in and he asked me if it was a honeydew.

The man has just not got our vision (but we love him anyway.)

The celebrating and Such

The Happy Couple apres dinner

So sometimes things just work out in a way where the celebrating comes after the event. Such is the case with our Anniversary. It was my year to plan (Danny and I trade off every other year - I've got the even's he's got the odd's -- as to not put too much pressure/expectations on either of us at any given time).

Though since he's in charge of the 5 year, I mean, he better do something AWESOME, you know?

Anyway, I had been hearing about' The Other Guys this week -- Terri Gross (of NPR's Fresh Aire) and John Stewart (Daily Show) interviewed Will Ferrell.

I couldn't believe I actually wanted to see the film, but it turned out to be ok. Pretty funny actually. So we did movie first, and then I had made reservations at Cucina Toscana for a couple of reasons.

• First) Neither of us had been there
• B) Italian is my favorite
• 3rdly)I had the impression it was one of those places that would mean more than an hour for dinner, and I really liked the idea of that
  

So we settled in for a romantic dinner for two; and just after we had ordered Danny's stylist (yes, 'stylist' as I banned him from getting his hair done at Great Clips once we were married) I see said hair-god-mortal walking down the street with a darling pixie-hair brunette.

Mr. Makeover & My Hubby

"Jeff," as well call him for the sake of our story and obviously because that happens to be his name, is a high school buddy of Danny's. He has been living up the single life, and as such sometimes Danny would come home from a 'cut' with (sometimes salacious) tales of life in the fast lane.

Nevertheless, overall The Bachelor has a good heart; and since the hostess has managed to seat them right next to us without either party mentioning we were friends, I figured it was serendipity/serendipitous(?) and so we asked them to join our table (a four top that seemed to be beckoning extra company). Also, if they hadn't have joined us, I feared the two of them talking across the table all dinner and that would've been even worse.

Me and the Pixie

It turned out to be a brilliant night. The conversation stupendous (I wonder if they got sick of us talking up Little Bits?); and I laughed out loud so hard that on more than one occasion my cheeks hurt.

The food was as brilliant as the company.

Though I can't help but wonder if Danny and I would've indulged in the evening as long if it had just been the two of us. I hear horror stories of couples who have children and suddenly they don't really have anything to share or talk about. I hope that never happens to us.

I can't say that we're as giddy and foolish about love as we were when we were engaged and first married. But I do find it absolutely true that our love is deeper and more full than it has ever been.

And that is not only something to celebrate, but to talk about too.

With (Valter Nassi) Mr. Cucina Toscana himself!

PS. Besides a little shopping spree last weekend, Mr. Suite-Mangum Surprised me with a book about Led Zeppelin. (He knows me so well.)

Happy Anniversary to Me!

I'm sure Danny has an AWESOME tribute planned on his blog that is dedicated to me for our 4-yr wedding anniversary... so I don't really feel the need to get all mushy and stuff with him here.

I can only imagine how he'll talk about how amazing I am; and that he loves me even in my super-chubbo phases.

He'll compliment my cooking (except that wretched calazone I made and some other 'issues'), and say he never thought he could love soup so much.

He'll probably go on and on about how it's wonderful I've spent so much money on a garden that will end up producing about $50 worth of produce... oh and how great I am at saving money (or maybe it was spending money.)

Anywhooo - I'm sure there's plenty more to go on (or off?) about: his gratitude for cloth diapers and the weird smell pee makes when it hits a hemp liner; getting rid of all chlorine products in our house (ie. bleach, clorox, etc) so our whites are as bright as a light gray towel could be (that was formerly defined as white).

Yep, four years of insanely delicious marriage. The only way we've made it is because I am so easy to get along with (oh wait...)


But seriously darling, thanks for four years of bliss.

July 2010 in Deer Valley at the Ben Folds/Utah Symphony Orchestra Concert

A little looksee at the past:
Three Year Tribute & Reception Perfection

The Way You Do the Things you Do (at 18 months)

Happy 18 months Holden!

Tomorrow makes it official: you are One-and-a-half. Here are some of the highlights of your current life.

Your Love Of...
Well, Dogs are easily your favorite animal - you can say 'woof woof'...you also like to say 'doodle-doodle-do' when we ask you what a rooster says. You are also good at picking out giraffes.

You L-O-V-E books. We go to the library at least once a week for Book Baby, and you love to be read to. Especially, on the potty

• From the Library: Sheep Out to Eat, The Turnip Tale, I Like Trains
• From Your Collection: A is for Ark, Your Counting Book
  
• From My Collection:Stephen Colbert's "I Am America and So Can You," Kate Spade's "Manners" & "Style" and Andy Warhols "Flowers, Flowers, Flowers." (You are such a young little hipster)

You love spending time with your cousins -- and often favor your Aunt Cassandra, Mama Suite AND Grandma to me. I try to not let it upset me.
You love ALL music. It's funny when I change it to KRCL and Reggae is playing... you dig the rasta.

Picking the petals off of roses... oddly enough you also like picking tomatoes that aren't ripe and our peppers from the salsa garden that are few and far between. The lettuce has also been a little blitzed under your tutelage.

You love pulling out the beets and carrying them in a bunch to the kitchen. I find this to be seven varieties of adorableness.

Sleeping


We just recently moved to one nap a day (yes, Mommy is part of this process.). It's one less bed-time snuggle we get during the day, but we seem to make up cuddle time with book reading.

You've been sleeping in your own bed for a while now (a twin mattress on the floor of the nursery... so much for all the co-sleeping non-believers who said "You'll never get that kid out of your bed!") Though I'll often join you in your room for an extra hour or two of shut eye in the mornings since you enjoy a cup of milk to top-off the morning.

Now you're also doing this thing where you wake up and don't even come into our room to get into bed with us. You just walk into the kitchen and stand by the fridge until we join you either making an odd whinning-fake-crying noise or yessling "Maaaam. Maaam." (Daddy says we should just start putting milk-on-ice in your room.)

That Whole EC/Potty Thing
You are doing awesome with your Potty Learning. I can't believe we've been at it for a year now. Just giving you 'pottytunities.' Your mornings are pretty much clockwork. There's still plenty of 'misses' but it's been so low key, and it just seems a part of the communication process we have.
You are really good at telling us when you're wet, AND you've even made it to the potty by yourself when you're having diaper free time. I don't think it will be long before we make the full transition out of diapers and training pants. This "experiment" has been a nice gentle-parenting technique for us to try. I feel like it gives us a love of face-to-face time; not to mention their are days it has been one comedy or errors after another.

Signing Time with... Just Us
You can 'sign' the following words: please, finished, milk, more, shoes (looks like milk) and occasionally you'll throw out a 'potty' and 'bird' or 'cat.' We haven't been real committed to the signing thing, but the please and finished signals have been exceptionally helpful.

Things You're Working Out

You try to do the actions to Itsy-Bitsy (Eensy-Weensy?) Spider.

You throw things... a lot of things (especially food -- I am trying to figure out what to do with about this). You think EVERYTHING IS A BASEBALL....I blame your father.

You try to sing Darth Vader's March from Star Wars with your cousins: Duh-duh-duh duh-da-dun, duh-da-dun.

You like sprinklers but the randomness of slash-pads (like at Gateway) kind of doesn't thrill you at all.

Our Little Foodie
Food-wise you're still a pretty good eater though outside of dairy and cheese you're not really into eating animal: meat, chicken, fish, eggs -- you really don't like it (I am reading this as a reverence for creation and the environmental concerns associated with mass consumption of animals... but that could be my own bias.)

Your favorite food right now is watermelon. You have developed an aversion for all things citrus - which is odd since you used to eat a bucket of tangelos/cutie oranges a week.

You like to bite cherry tomatoes and chocolate chips and then spit them out as soon as they're in your mouth.

You like to help me cook. As soon as I start baking or cooking anything you'll go into the dining room and try and push a chair into the kitchen to help me. I know it's just going to keep getting easier for you to help me. I really enjoy this time together. I hope you continue to love to cook with me - it is something that will help you and your family throughout your life.

Just Some Other Stuff
I think you're pretty good at following directions.

You think if we put on shoes it means you get to go outside (which is usually true).

It's easiest to dress you in front of our 9 x 4 foot mirror. You like to check yourself out from all angles after.

You're a climber.

You make the sound when the garage door comes up - you love to wave to people in trucks.

Your blonder than blond, and have eyes that are bluer than blue, and we love you Mr Holden. Thanks for joining our team.

Braggart

Just wanted to throw out there that tonight I made stuffed peppers for dinner and the Chile sauce included an Anaheim chili from our garden.

We also pulled beets from the garden, roasted the roots and cooked the beet greens like Swiss chard. I felt kind of cool....

And just to keep the yin in this yang, etc etc...

I ought to confess I have managed to gain back a bit of the weight I lost earlier this year. I blame summer's obligatory home made ice cream; and I keep making that damn keylime pie (I keep trying to perfect a graham cracker crust from scratch), oh and I continue my love affair with chocolate chip cookies (there's probably a few other things I ought to mention too.)

You'd think I'd be looking 'fit' as I'm training for a marathon and all, but apparently I'm not at the point where I get to eat whatever I want... I feel like that guy from Biggest Loser that gained two pounds training for the marathon last season. Jillian would be going all psychoanalysis on me trying to figure out what happened to make me hold onto this resentment (aka fat cells), and such like...



Maybe I can blame it on my father. :)

Last word - Speaking of my father...

Maybe I shared this before, but the other day my Dad told me he got online to look at my blog and thought 'Why would anyone be interested in this?'

That's a question you'll have to answer for yourself.